Fear of Egg bound budgie: no vet access because of quarantine

[Iner]

I have two typically healthy male and female budgies who are about 3 years old. They both have their own cages that I leave open throughout the day for them to do as they please and they have yearly vet checkups. I try my best to make their lives happy since they don’t care much for human interaction.

I noticed my female was scratching at her vent is morning and upon further inspection I saw droppings collected at her vent and a bulge at her abdomen. I’m afraid she is egg bound but I’m not sure if it’s just a normal or unfertilized egg ready to pass since I’ve never dealt with anything like this. I read a bit on egg binding online and took her out with a soft towel to clear the droppings and apply warm olive oil to her vent. I’ve only ever wrapped her in towels when I first brought them home to break their fear of leaving the cage, so this obviously terrified her.

In normal circumstances I would absolutely take her to a vet in an instant, but unfortunately that isn’t possible at the moment. I’ve called my exotic vet and they just told they’re sorry and unable to do anything. I just don’t know what to do, taking her to a vet just isn’t an option and I hate the whole situation of the world right now. Im sorry about the long post and I know there isn’t much I can do from home but I’d appreciate anything.

 

[noodles123]

where are you located (if you don't mind sharing)? Is she straining to poop?

 

[noodles123]

You could try increasing humidity in the room, providing a warm (NOT HOT) bath to relax the muscles...maybe some coconut oil or something on the vent to try to lubricate things (if you really can't get a vet)--if you have one that is open a few hours away and sees birds, you might want to consider it.
Keep the room much warmer than usual...not like 100 degrees, but like...78 or so if you can--bird-safe heating pads are another option if you have those...but when it comes to heaters be very careful- space heaters can be coated internally with teflon/ptfe/pfcs/pfoa and that can kill your bird due to the fumes it produces when heated.
I terms of exact room temp- other members will hopefully chime in because I am not sure of an exact temp- you don't want to over heat them, but it needs to be warmer than usual....

 

[Iner]

Unfortunately I’ve exhausted all my vet options, my main vet is closed and not seeing anyone, others who see avians are taking extreme precautions and not allowing new visitors, and the rest are not specialized in exotics. If there was any way to get her to a vet I would. I’ve put her in her travel cage for now in the bathroom while I ran the shower for humidity and heat, is a bath still advisable? Should I put towels in the bottom of the cage if she does pass it or can they lay eggs while just perching?

 

[noodles123]

I am not sure--- heat your house though! When she gets out of there she will be cold if it is steamy-- space heaters can contain teflon so do not use any of those unless you are certain they are safe.

 

[noodles123]

If she is totally freaked by the shower- you might not want to do that (consider a humidfier instead if that is an option). Just know that when she leaves the shower it is going to feel very cold in the rest of the home and you don't want that necessarily. You want them to be warmer than usual-- not so much that they overheat, but a stressed bird laying an egg will lose body heat faster than normal...Try to keep her calm

 

[Iner]

Thank you so much! I’ve taken her out of the bathroom and into a small spare room with a safe heating pad and humidifier. I’ve put a wash cloth down on one side of her cage in case she needs to go to the bottom to pass it. All I can do is wait and check up on her for now.

 

[noodles123]

If you are a source of calm for her, you might stay with her. If she is tame, once again, you can put some bird-safe oil on her vent to help things along

 

[Iner]

I’ve left my phone with her to play music since that is something she enjoys. They don’t mind human interaction but prefer each others company. I’ll check in on her often and check her vent to see how things are going. Thank you for being so helpful.

 

[noodles123]

I am not recommending this (because it could kill your bird), BUT if it becomes a matter of absolute life and death and you have NO options left an your bird is not going to make it unless you try something, there are videos of people pressing on certain areas to remove the egg, but I want to emphasize that this is VERY dangerous because if the egg breaks or the bird freaks out, it could die from egg fragments, a stroke, heart attack, bleeding etc--A vet is really the only one who should ever try it, but again- that is why I am saying that this would be AN ABSOLUTE LAST RESORT. I would not attempt to mess with the egg unless you believed your bird was definitely going to die without intervention (because then, it might be worth a shot)...but only if you could handle the potential trauma if it did go wrong..because it could..that's why I say that this would need to be an absolute last resort.

 

[Iner]

I’m aware of the videos your talking about. Of course I’d never try anything like that unless it was the absolute last resort. I’ll be checking on her frequently so hopefully she is able to pass it on her own.

 

[noodles123]

An exotics vet that sees a lot of parrots could still probably help you with this-- FYI--I mean, yes, there is risk, but probably less than without intervention. I used to have to take my bird to an exotics vet and while she wasn't as good as an avian vet, she did see a lot of birds and was okay...mostly.

 

[Iner]

I’ll continue contacting vets within a reasonable distance to see if any can give me advice over the phone at least. I know how important it is to have a specialists opinion in these situations.

 

[Scott]

I am surprised the exotic vet is not open at least for emergencies during the COVID pandemic. Many offer curbside drop-off and insulate the interior facility from customers. A shame they cannot at least offer verbal guidance - though typical procedure is to X-Ray for diagnosis and offer injectable meds + fluid support as needed.

Running a shower with hot water in small bathroom is best method of quickly raising and maintaining heat and humidity.

I hope the egg (if that is cause) passes quickly and comfortably. Please keep searching for potential vets willing to provide services!

 

[Iner]

She managed to lay an egg overnight and I had found a vet who has experience with birds yesterday that was only a few hours away. I dropped her off early this morning for an X-ray and they are keeping her over night. Hopefully everything goes well, I appreciate all your help.

 

[noodles123]

YAY!!! THANK GOODNESS! I was very worried!!!

 

[noodles123]

I am surprised the exotic vet is not open at least for emergencies during the COVID pandemic. Many offer curbside drop-off and insulate the interior facility from customers. A shame they cannot at least offer verbal guidance - though typical procedure is to X-Ray for diagnosis and offer injectable meds + fluid support as needed.

Running a shower with hot water in small bathroom is best method of quickly raising and maintaining heat and humidity.

I hope the egg (if that is cause) passes quickly and comfortably. Please keep searching for potential vets willing to provide services!

Yes- the reason I was nervous about the hot shower/steam idea is because the bird sounded kind of timid and because, if she was in extreme distress, the fear caused by the unfamiliar shower and then the shock of the cold upon leaving could have been bad/ dangerous-- they couldn't stay in there all night with the water running, and having sat with my parrot when she had respiratory issues, I know how COLD it feels when I leave the steamy room after 15 minutes (and humans regulate heat way better than parrots in distress). I assumed it probably was an egg, but in the case of a sick bird (due to a tumor or infection etc or an very severely egg-bound bird), the solution may not have come quickly in the shower (and it gets too hot after 15-20 minutes in there). Then there would be the shock of the temperature change after (that was why I said humidifier if the bird isn't used to the shower (because the bird was probably already freaked out and sick). I was hoping to keep things as calm as possible, but you are right that humidity increase would be fastest in a shower.

 

[Scott]

I am surprised the exotic vet is not open at least for emergencies during the COVID pandemic. Many offer curbside drop-off and insulate the interior facility from customers. A shame they cannot at least offer verbal guidance - though typical procedure is to X-Ray for diagnosis and offer injectable meds + fluid support as needed.

Running a shower with hot water in small bathroom is best method of quickly raising and maintaining heat and humidity.

I hope the egg (if that is cause) passes quickly and comfortably. Please keep searching for potential vets willing to provide services!

Yes- the reason I was nervous about the hot shower/steam idea is because the bird sounded kind of timid and because, if she was in extreme distress, the fear caused by the unfamiliar shower and then the shock of the cold upon leaving could have been bad/ dangerous-- they couldn't stay in there all night with the water running, and having sat with my parrot when she had respiratory issues, I know how COLD it feels when I leave the steamy room after 15 minutes (and humans regulate heat way better than parrots in distress). I assumed it probably was an egg, but in the case of a sick bird (due to a tumor or infection etc or an very severely egg-bound bird), the solution may not have come quickly in the shower (and it gets too hot after 15-20 minutes in there). Then there would be the shock of the temperature change after (that was why I said humidifier if the bird isn't used to the shower (because the bird was probably already freaked out and sick). I was hoping to keep things as calm as possible, but you are right that humidity increase would be fastest in a shower.

Sounds reasonable!!

 

[Scott]

She managed to lay an egg overnight and I had found a vet who has experience with birds yesterday that was only a few hours away. I dropped her off early this morning for an X-ray and they are keeping her over night. Hopefully everything goes well, I appreciate all your help.

Wonderful news, happy the egg passed! Glad you found a suitable vet, hope she recuperates well.

 

[noodles123]

Any updates on your bird?